When you are photographing birds, no lens is long enough; somehow they are always too far away and too skittish to approach. The camera I usually carry around is an Olympus Stylus 1s, which zooms to 300mm eq. Plenty for what I use it for, but not for our flying friends. Still, when I see interesting birds, I usually have a go, if only to be able to identify the birds when I get home.
Here are some of those photos that turned out OK, despite using a short lens:
Composition with woodpeckers (great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major), to be precise):
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO160, f4, 1/500s
Ominous crow:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO100, f4, 1/800s
This photo I wouldn't normally have posted, as its quality is sub-par, but it made me laugh out loud, so here it is. It's a goldcrest (Regulus regulus), the smallest European bird. Very skittish, won't sit still for a second. This one was pushing off, about to take to the air, which made it look like one of the Angry Birds:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO400, f4, 1/30s
Some little birds trust their camouflage, allowing me to take this shot of a sparrow observing me:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO160, f4, 1/500s
My experience with photographing birds in the wild has given me great respect for those who pull off good shots of birds. You know who you are.